The Value Proposition The Halios Seaforth

Despite my eager and bleary-eyed attendance at both SIHH and Baselworld this past year, the release of the Halios Seaforth has nevertheless become a highlight of my 2017 horological calendar. Halios, a darling of the now-maturing internet micro-brand dive watch scene, launched the Seaforth this past July in a mix-n-match format, offering multiple dials and bezel options to maximize appeal for the widest possible audience. From black dials and black sapphire bezel inserts to pastel blue dials and fixed sterile bezels, the handful of options makes for a wide range of possible Seaforth expressions. For the purposes of this review, I’ll be focusing on this lovely pastel blue Seaforth and its steel 12-hour GMT bezel.

The Halios Seaforth with blue dial and rotating bezel.

Halios is based in Vancouver, Canada, and is a one-man business fueled by the dive watch passion of one Jason Lim. Over the better part of the last decade, Lim has successfully grown Halios into a stable and well-loved producer of a respectable lineage of sport watches, from the early Holotype, to the Laguna, the Tropik, and now the Seaforth, to name only a few. Production runs are small and while Halios may eventually produce additional examples of a given model, they typically do so with tweaked designs and new dial options. By consistently evolving and improving his Asian-made product within the confines of the sub-$1,000 internet retail space, Lim has been able to garner a considerable reputation among the generally skeptical and often fair-weather population of online dive watch enthusiasts.

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Unlike the Tropik, which was also offered in bronze, the Seaforth is available only in steel. This Seaforth is 41mm wide, 12mm thick, and 47mm lug to lug (fixed bezel versions are 40mm at the case edge and the rotating bezel grip adds 1mm). Viewed in profile, much of that 12mm thickness is derived from the curved edge of the Seaforth’s vintage-style domed sapphire crystal. Meant to evoke the box plexi crystals of '60s and '70s divers, the Seaforth’s crystal has an internal anti-reflective treatment and presents very little distortion or magnification from its bubbled edge. While the exposed crystal edge is undoubtedly a touchstone of a bygone era in sports watches, the Seaforth design does not feel especially dated or laboriously “new vintage.”

Halios is a Canadian watch brand based in Vancouver.

The case is svelte and presents minimal visual bulk, allowing the dial and the bezel to do all of the heavy lifting. With a simple brushed finish complimented by an expanding polished bevel on each lug, the Seaforth is casually elegant and, depending on your choice of dial, decidedly low-key. In use, the crown is quite sturdy, feeling directly connected to the movement and aided by a smooth and well-implemented screw down. Flanked on both sides by protective guards, this is not the sort of crown commonly found on a sub-$1,000 watch and the Seaforth is entirely dive-ready with 200m (660ft) of water resistance.

The Seaforth features a vintage-inspired dome crystal.

The pastel blue could be had with a range of bezels, including the sterile fixed bezel, a traditional 60-minute steel dive bezel, or the as-reviewed steel 12-hour GMT bezel. I adore GMT in all of its myriad variations and the useful simplicity of a 12-hour bezel is no exception. For the curious, a 12-hour bezel displays a second time zone by allowing you to rotate the bezel to place the hour difference between your current home time and a selected 2nd time zone to the twelve o’clock position on the dial. With the bezel set, you can now read the second time zone via the hour hand’s indication on the bezel. It’s easy, clever, and provides real functionality with no additional mechanical complexity.

The bezel itself is brushed, with a matched circular finish and simple engraved numerals alongside a lumed triangle at the 12 marker. The grip is precise and easy to use, offering a progressive and smooth action with a strong, if tinny, click and no wiggle between each position. This is the best bezel I’ve come across on a Halios and, like the crown, it is simply better in use than what is generally found at this price point.

The solid screw down caseback.

The side profile is particularly appealing with the beveled lugs.

The Seaforth’s dial variations include black, black with gilt markers/hands, a blue sunburst, and the pastel blue dial seen here. I am a sucker for a small amount of strangeness in a watch (such as the stepped 24-hour hand on a Seiko 6117-6400 or the internal cyclops magnifier on some old Skin Divers) and I found the use of such an uncommon color very appealing. The matte dial is almost a desaturated Gulf Blue, fading from bright sunny blue to a faded blue-grey depending on available light. With black surrounds for the markers and hands and minimal black dial text, the Seaforth offers excellent contrast and strong legibility. The hands and markers use C3 SuperLuminova for low light viewing and the application is ample, providing a strong and enduring glow.

The indexes are treated with SuperLuminova for that extra glow.

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Also, aiding in keeping the dial design both minimal and well balanced, the Seaforth is available only in a no-date format. Powered by the Miyota 90S5, this 4Hz movement is essentially the no-date version of the now very common Miyota 9015. With 24 jewels and a power reserve in excess of 42 hours, the 90S5 allows the Seaforth to avoid the “phantom position” commonly exhibited by no-date watches using a date-inclusive movement (where the crown has a position for date setting but the watch has no date functionality). Like getting a new car with a dash full of blank switches for all of the options you didn’t select, a phantom position is not a deal breaker, but it is nice to see that Halios has gone the extra mile in using a dateless movement for the no-date Seaforth.

On the wrist it wears well and the bright blue dial is more understated than anticipated.

On wrist, the Seaforth is really rather charming. The bright dial and contrasty display ensure a sporty demeanour that is bolstered by the old-world charm of the boxed crystal and the steel bezel. With perfect proportions for my tastes, the Seaforth weighs a breezy 79g on the shown two-stitch style leather straps. Both of the included leather straps are easy wearing and pleasantly chunky, replete with a steel buckle that is signed on the inner flank.

For $700, the Halios Seaforth is a great watch.

Nicely designed, solidly built, and well-priced, I really like the Seaforth and think it is one of the more thoughtful and refreshing new watches to be found at this price point. Depending on your choice of bezel, the Seaforth sells for roughly $700. As those who follow Halios would be quick to note, the pricing isn’t really the issue, but rather how quickly they tend to sell out. There can be a bit of a mad dash when orders open up and, while I was in the process of writing this piece, the entire first production run sold out. Halios sold the Seaforth in two waves on their website and the second wave of orders managed to sell the remainder of their supply in under 5 minutes.

At well under $1,000, the Seaforth marks the relative maturity (and impressive value statement) of the once flighty internet indie dive watch scene. Even if you can’t get your hands on one from the initial batch, the Seaforth shows that it’s simply a great time to be a watch enthusiast, especially if you’re partial to pastel blue.

James Stacey is a freelance writer, photographer, and podcast host from Vancouver, Canada. From mountain peaks to the Autobahn to remote coral atolls, he is a mechanical obsessive with a passion for adventure. Always equipped with a watch, a camera, and a smile, James's work can be found in various outlets and on The Grey NATO podcast.